Bought, not Built!

I was at the Pacers/Heat game yesterday and I couldn’t help but notice the signs all over the place – “Built, Not Bought!” In the Midwest we take pride in building something the right way… from the ground up. We admire “homegrown talent” and shrewd signings and trades. You don’t overpay. You draft players like Paul George, Lance Stephenson and Roy Hibbert and watch them get better every year. You trade for guys like George Hill who are just “good dudes” and you sign guys like the “BAD MAN” David West and you are close to a championship. We hate the Yankees and admire frugality and economy. I have a friend who is worth over $200 million and his best car is a Toyota Camry. He’s a salt-of-the-earth guy. We dig that. We abhor big government and big waste. We abhor LeBron James and the Heat… and we are going to kick their asses!

I was reading an article at Dodgers Digest the other day where Daniel Brim talked about that the Dodgers outfield is only a problem if you hate great production. What if a person hates looking like a fool for paying a lot more than any other team? The Dodgers are paying their outfielders about $67 million a year. Yes, the Dodgers are the best in baseball at wRC+ (barely), but the next three teams spend less (COMBINED) than the Dodgers. All the TOP 6 teams spend less than half of what the Dodgers spend, except for the Giants who spend a little mere than half ($35 million). The Dodgers spend more than any other team EVER in the history of baseball in payroll and their outfield is the highest paid in all of baseball… by a HUGE margin!

And they still have a 23-22 record. One game above .500 for the highest paid team EVER in the history of baseball!

I hear it all the time from other fans about how stupid the Dodgers are… and it’s all true. Sadly, it’s true!

The biggest mistake the Guggenheim Group made was not cleaning house and building from within. Colletti and Mattingly should have been shown the door. I championed Brad Ausmus, but nooooooo, Stan Kasten stuck with the incumbents. Shoot, I would have loved Dan Evans as GM. I like A-Gone, but if the Dodgers had not traded for Gonzo, Crawford and Beckett they could have had a team that wasn’t saddled with huge salary problems and the wrong mix of players.

Ned Colletti has made too many unforgivable dope-fiend moves and Don Mattingly is outclassed! It’s time for a clean slate. The Dodgers need a Chief Baseball Officer, like Tony LaRussa who is now with the D-Backs. Bring in that guy – Kasten is the business guy – and watch the turnaround.

Now, some of you will say “It’s only been a couple of years. The Dodgers need time.” BS – How much time did the Red Sox need? They didn’t overspend. Overspending seldom works. They just won… and win they did!

By the way, Frank McCourt has won the same number of World Series as Guggs & Company.

20 thoughts on “Bought, not Built!”

TMWISHsays:

So the Dodgers have not built from within cause they have been spending? Why can’t they spend and build the farm? Why the hell do you want Tony La Russa the guy has never built a team. Kasten has built multiple good young teams. Also this is not the most expensive team in baseball history if you adjust for inflation. In other words:http://i.imgur.com/D7AMXl9.jpg

jojosays:

Bobbysays:

Be proud of your mentality. It keeps your economy and ur living conditions and ur overall happiness amongst the lowest in the country, and your people amongst the fattest in the country.

Hate the Yanks. They grew from within, and traded and bought whatever they needed to win titles. The Heat brought in 2 guys who took less money and they’ve made 3 finals in a row, and have a shot at a 4th. I hate the Heat. I’m a Laker season ticket holder. But they did what they did, and it worked. The only midwestern mentality that wins is the Cardinals.

Roger Dodgersays:

The new ownership must have felt that if they got a few key players (the Boston trade) that would turn the team around along with Hanley in the fold.

They did fine last season. Knocked on the door.

But this season, after signing Kershaw — that backfired on ownership really fast. He should have 6 or 7 wins by now, but as we know, things backfired on him.

Most of the team does not seem to be playing with passion or heart.

Ownership did not fix three problems: catcher, 3b, and the 4th outfielder.

Kemp is not the Kemp of old. Gee, how many strikes does he take right down the middle of the plate. And the same with A.J., right down the middle.

Gordon has been a surprise, and leading the league in S.B. Great, but that will not win the West.

I have mentioned this before, but back about 1950, Ralph Kiner hitting 50 HRs went in for a raise, but the Pirates GM said, “No, I can finish in last place with or without you; this is your contract, sign it.”

Even if Gordon steals 100+ bases this season, the Dodger sill could finish in 3rd or 4th place. It is the rest of the lineup that has to produce, in timely fashion — like they did for 50 games last season.

Now, Donnie has his challenge . . . turn this team around.

Jaesays:

Reggiesays:

I’m no midwestern guy, but I can tell you that California sucks. Great climate and the quality of life is deplorable. I can’t wait to retire and get out. Kansas is where I am going. Bobby, you are just ignorant. Not stupid – just ignorant!

DK Dodgerssays:

Mark – I don’t really understand your point. Mr. Brim is absolutely correct: the Dodgers DO have the most productive OF in baseball – so how is that anything else besides a “good thing”?

It’s not like we went out and overpaid for a bunch of Free Agents in their prime. Kemp, Ethier and Puig each made their MLB debut as Dodgers. We’re fortunate enough to have been able to re-sign Kemp and Ethier to FMV extensions and to have had the resources and foresight to win the Puig sweepstakes.

Kemp had been an iron man before his spate of recent injuries. And while I wasn’t crazy about the Ethier extension (mostly because I’d hoped the Dodgers would be able to replace him from within the farm), it was not a crazy deal given his production at that point. And I’m beyond glad the Dodgers did whatever was necessary to snag Puig.

Crawford is really the only OF the Dodgers are arguably over-paying, but part of the price we had to pay to pry A-Gon from Boston was to take on CC’s deal. I’d much rather the Dodgers have a bit of salary bloat then to have limped along with James Loney indefinitely (he’s hit exactly 1 HR for TBay this season).

I am happy to see the Dodgers freely pay FMV for premium talent. After years of McCourt’s penny-pinching (e.g., squelching the Vladimir acquisition while he and his wife bought 7 homes in L.A., etc.), we finally have a shot at becoming perennial contenders.

5 games out on May 18? Hardly time to panic. Indeed, we have riches on the farm that should be ready to contribute later this summer (Joc, Alex Guerrero – maybe even Zach lee if necessary) – all that PLUS a pile of cash to fund more key acquisitions. Assuming CK and Ryu are reasonably healthy, a rotation of CK-Zach-Ryu-Haren-Beckett sets us up nicely to go on a high-percentage W/L run. I don’t expect 42-8, but that was more than we needed.

Cheer up!

Mark_Timmonssays:

Mr. Brim is absolutely correct, but that’s not the end of it. By paying double what everyone else did, the Dodgers don’t have enough money to fill other needs. That’s the point. Also, when you overpay, you create a sense of entitlement in the players, creating underachieving assets. It’s not a good thing. It’s a bad thing and we will find out soon enough.

I’m not panicked. I’m disgusted and have been since the inception. The Dodgers won’t win as they are built. Watch and learn.

Anonymoussays:

“Now, some of you will say “It’s only been a couple of years. The Dodgers need time.” BS – How much time did the Red Sox need? They didn’t overspend. Overspending seldom works. They just won… and win they did!” — Mark

If I ever heard “BS”, that’s it.

Guggenheim inherited a broken farm system, and has attempted to build from within (something Kasten did successfully in both Atlanta and Washington), and also spent to make the Dodgers immediately relevant. They did that, because they can afford it. Kasten knows full well that teams are successful long term when they build from within. But he also knows that that takes time. So why not do both as long as you can afford it. It will take time to fully stock the Dodgers farm system. And anyone who follows baseball knows that’s just the way it is. In the meantime, the Dodgers reached over 3 million in attendance this year even before the season began, and they’re on a pace to end the season with nearly 4 million in attendance. Along with the TV contract, that attendance will bring in lots of dollars to cover the exorbitant payroll. The Dodgers have a long term plan, which is, try to win NOW, and build for the future with a strong emphasis on player development. Without the money, would Puig be a Dodger? Would the Dodgers have signed Guerrero and Arruebarrena? And how many 16 and 17 year olds not named Urias will we be reading about in a few years.

The Dodgers are doing everything you want them to do in the player development area. But what they’re also doing, is spending money to fill holes that can only be filled by spending NOW. Sure, Crawford and Beckett were the price the Dodgers had to pay to get Agon. But would the Dodgers have even made it to the post-season last year had they not made that deal. From a purely monetary point of view, that deal has probably already paid for itself. And by the way, after this year, Beckett will be off the books, or back at a lower price.

Yeah, Guggs has won the same number of World Series as McCourt. Of course, they’ve only owned the team for two years, while McCourt had it for 10. Let’s see if you can say the same thing 8 years from now. In fact, if Hanley hadn’t been drilled in the LCS (further than McCourt ever took the Dodgers), the Dodgers most likely would have beaten the Cardinals in 4 or 5 games, and would have advanced to the World Series. Or don’t you remember how close the games were against the Cardinals?

And what’s wrong with the money the Dodgers have spent. Agon’s been in a slump recently, but he still has 10 HRs, and 30 RBIs. In about one-fourth of a season that equats to 40 HRs and 120 RBIs. Not saying Agon will reach those numbers, but he’s still off to a good start. Lot’s of people say that the Dodgers made a mistake in signing Kemp for 8 years. But tell me, how could anyone have predicted that a player who played in 399 consecutive games was suddenly going to be disabled for two years. Let’s not forget that Kemp not only had a great 2011, but was on a triple crown pace when the injuries began in May 2012. Based on the contracts that are being handed out in baseball, his 8-year $160 million deal was, by any reasonable measure, CHEAP. But I will admit that the Ethier deal was a mistake. For whatever reason(s), his power has disappeared.

So far Greinke has justified his deal, and hopefully Kershaw will justify his. But maybe you think the Dodgers could have gotten him cheaper after another Cy Young year. Or maybe you think that Nate Eovaldi was too high a price to pay for Hanley. Certainly Eovaldi has potential, but then again, where would the Dodgers have been last year without Hanley?

And yes, the Dodgers are 23-22. So what? I know you don’t like to hear this, but really, it is a long season. The Red Sox, by the way, are 20-23. And how lucky do you think they were last year, getting to play the Tigers with an injured Miguel Cabrera, and not having to face the Dodgers with a healthy Hanley. But I will admit that the Cardinals have a better record than the Dodgers this year. They’re 23-21.